Fringe review: CHLOE PETTS: BIG NATURALS, Pleasance Courtyard
Chloe Petts grew up in the late 1990s and early 2000s, at the height of lad culture. She loved football, she loved Kasabian, and she loved Page Three girls. This is the starting point for Big Naturals, a show where Petts delves into the lasting impact of lad culture, being a role model for young lesbians, and her history of almost exclusively dating “tiny bisexuals”.
Petts is eminently likeable – her writing is consistently funny and her delivery warm and charming. The crowd is with her from the word go, as Petts draws us into her world and regales us with anecdote after anecdote about her family, her time at the 2022 Women’s Euros Final, and her brief foray into a Christian rock band.
She’s also excellent at riffing with the crowd, reacting to latecomers with a quick wit, and, hilariously, realising that Rosie Jones is in the audience after a good-natured jab at Jones herself, which leads to a recurring bit throughout the show at Jones’ expense. Petts goes off on many tangents, often leaving herself laughing just as hard as the audience, but she never loses control of the room and always connects back cleverly to her original point.
Petts is well on her way to becoming one of the next big things in British comedy, and if this show is anything to go by, her rise to stardom is going to be sooner rather than later. She’s definitely one to watch, and for what it’s worth, we think she’s absolutely deserving of her status as a role model.
***** Five stars
Reviewed by: Lorna Murray